Monitoring your employees? 5 ways to do it legally.

• Position: Privacy & HR

As the number and pervasiveness of on-the-job electronic distractions continues to grow, employers are keeping a much closer electronic eye on their workers.

More than 90% of employers monitor employees' use of email, internet or phone, according to an American Management Association study. Employers also use video and voice recordings at work. And some employers, controversially, have even installed motion detectors to track when each employee was at his or her desk.

How far can you go in monitoring your employees? There are fine legal lines involved. Here are five steps you can legally take:

1. Videotape: only in open work areas. Courts have ruled that disclosed, soundless video cameras are the safest option. Don't use video surveillance where a worker would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as dressing rooms or restrooms.

2. Email and internet: provide notice. Because the company owns the email and internet systems in your workplace, you are allowed to monitor them. However, it's best to provide written notice to workers that all of these electronic tools are the property of the company, that they should be used for business purposes, are not considered private and can be monitored at any time.

3. Lockers: have reasonable suspicion. Before going into employees' lockers, be sure you have grounds for reasonable suspicion of unlawful contents (drugs, weapons, etc.) and have police present. Write a clearly...